by : Mattel
American Girl is a brand of dolls launched in 1986 by Pleasant Rowland with three 18-inch dolls representing original characters from different periods of American history. The first three characters were Samantha Parkington, from 1904, Kirsten Larson, from 1854, and Molly McIntire, from 1944. Each doll came with the first book in her six-book series. In 1990, the Our New Baby line, a line of 15-inch baby dolls, was released. Three more historical characters were released in the ‘90s: Felicity Merriman from 1774 was released in 1991, Addy Walker from 1864 was released in 1993, and Josefina Montoya, from 1824, was released in 1997. In 1995, the Girl of Today line, a line of contemporary 18-inch dolls, was released, and the Our New Baby line was rebranded as Bitty Baby. In 1998, Pleasant Rowland sold the company to Mattel for $700 million. Characters continued to be released periodically in the historical character line, and a new line debuted in 2001, the Girl of the Year line. The initial two dolls in the line, Lindsey Bergman and Kailey Hopkins, were not strong sellers, but the line took off with the release of Marisol Luna in 2005. Other lines launched under American Girl branding in the 2000s include Girls of Many Lands, Hopscotch Hill School, and the Bitty Twins. The Bitty Twins line was the only one of those lines to continue into the next decade, but was retired in 2016 with the debut of the WellieWishers line. In 2014, the historical character line was revamped under the BeForever branding. In 2017, the Contemporary Character line is released. The line was similar to the Girl of the Year line, but without the specified limited availability. The Create Your Own line of customizable dolls was also released in 2017. The Girl of Today line went through many name changes and rebrands, but is currently known as Truly Me.
Mattel
American Girl Shop | View Link |
McHALE DESIGN CASE STUDY: MONSTERVERSE- THE LEGEND CONTINUES…
Build-A-Bear Celebrates National Teddy Bear Day with Donation to The Toy Foundation™
Toy Foundation Auction is Now Open for Your Bids
Bracelets, Stickers, and Viral Fame: The Story Behind Sky Castle Toys’ Sticki Rolls
Chrissy Fagerholt: Luck is when Preparation Meets Opportunity!
Book Review: Storm: Dawn of a Goddess by Tiffany D. Jackson
Book Review: Erno Rubik and his Magic Cube by Kerry Aradhya
Game Review: Trip Chaser
Learning Express Toys Hosts 25th Annual Convention & Toy Expo at JW Marriott Tucson
Submit Your LA Showroom Details for 2025 Toy Previews
Randy Klimpert Shares his Ukulele Collection
Steve Casino Peanut Art
Everyone's Talking about POP!
Princess Etch - a Multi-Talented Etch A Sketch Artist
Joseph Herscher of Joseph' s Machines.
Connie Vogelmann designed Apiary & Wyrmspan!
Bob Fuhrer... Is THE Crocodile Dentist!
Tom Dusenberry... Bought Atari, Wizards of the Coast, and Avalon Hill!
Matt Leacock created Pandemic... the game!
Scott Brown and Tim Swindle... are Launching a New Sport!
POPDuo: Richard Dickson, Mattel’s President & COO, and Kedar Narayan, Young Inventor Challenge AMB
POPDuo: Will Shortz and Josh Wardle
POP Duo: Elan Lee, Co-Founder, Exploding Kittens.and Jeff Probst, Host and Exec Producer, Survivor
POP Duo: David Fuhrer, MNG Director, Blue Sq Innovations & Shawn Green, past Dodgers & Mets MLB Star
POP Duo: Bob Fuhrer, Founder, Nextoy and Tom Fazio, Golf Course Designer